Page 36 of Falling for the Beast

Without waiting to see Thaddeus’s reaction, she bolted out the door and ran to Evelyn’s car. The motor was running, but she hadn’t pulled out yet. Aribelle approached the driver’s side window and Evelyn rolled it down, giving her a quizzical look.

“Sorry to bother you.” Now that she was there, talking to her, Aribelle suddenly didn’t know how to approach the subject. What does one say when asking about an old witch who cast a curse on your employer? Er, not even her employer anymore. Her…what was he? And why was she rambling in her head?

Evelyn smiled at her. “No problem. What do you need?”

Aribelle decided to blurt it out. “Do you know if the old woman who cursed Thaddeus still lives around here?”

Evelyn’s eyes grew wide and she glanced at the house. “He told you about that?”

“Yes. He told me everything.”

Indecision played across Evelyn’s face as she fiddled with her fake pearl necklace. “I don’t think I should talk about it.”

Crud. Evelyn was going to drive off, leaving her to deal with Thaddeus, who would be furious. And all the effort wasn’t going to get her anywhere. She had to come up with something fast. “It’s okay. We’ve talked a lot about it. How else would I know about it? We don’t know if the woman lives in the area still. Her name escapes me…”

“Catherine.”

“Right. Catherine. She used to live…” Aribelle looked northward, hoping she was somewhat close.

“The old house on Ash street, in Carson. She’s still there.” Evelyn looked extremely uncomfortable, glancing again in Thaddeus’s direction.

“Ah, thanks. We were discussing it and…well…taking bets and stuff. No biggie. This settles the argument.” She flipped her hand in the air like it was no big deal. “Thanks for clearing that up.”

“Have a good week,” Evelyn said, putting the car in reverse and backing out. She gunned it as she left and Aribelle let out a breath. She’d gotten what she wanted.

Now she had to go face Thaddeus.

Chapter 16

Aribelle wiped her sweaty handson her pants and stepped up to the door. He’d yell at her, that’s all. She could handle him. She pushed the door open and walked in. Thaddeus sat where she’d left him, on the couch. He wasn’t scowling, which was a good sign.

“Hey.” She gave him a tentative smile.

He kept his face passive. “Ingredients for a new recipe? That’s the best you could come up with?”

He wasn’t yelling. That was good. “Yeah, it was lame.” She plopped down on the recliner. She didn’t want to be too close in case he decided to get angry.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “I told you to leave it alone.”

She opened her mouth and the dam broke. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t sit back and not do anything, because we don’t know if there’s anything she can do, and we don’t even know if she’s still around, so it’s better to just find out, right? I mean, it doesn’t hurt to ask, and then we know, and even if she doesn’t do anything, at least we—”

“Belle!”

His voice rang out and she closed her mouth.

He looked to the ceiling like he was trying to control his temper. “I am what I am. Stop trying to change me.”

The pain behind the words stabbed at her chest, and her eyes widened. She didn’t mean to imply that he wasn’t good enough, or that she was trying to change him to be what she wanted. He was caring and gentle. He chose to heal others and take upon himself their pain. He was amazing. She didn’t have the words to say to him, so she stood and walked over to him. She sat beside him and put her hand on his cheek. All that would come out of her mouth was, “I’m sorry.”

He pulled her hand down and held it between his own. “Don’t be sorry. You’re just being the sweet person you are.”

He let go, stood, and crossed the room before she could react too much to their close proximity. He let out a frustrated breath and looked out the window. “If you’re not going to let this go, I’ll take you to see her.”

What? Would he do that for her? She rushed to him. “Really?” Before he could answer, she threw her arms around him and hugged him.

“Only because you’re going to bug me about it until I want to punch a wall,” he grumbled.

She laughed and pulled back. “You’re right.”

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